Purpose: To report study findings on teaching effectiveness and feedback mechanisms in Kenyan universities, which can guide management in developing a comprehensive quality control policy. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted an exploratory descriptive design. Three public and two private universities were randomly selected to participate in the study. A random sampling procedure was also used to select 79 respondents to participate in the research. A questionnaire administered in all participating universities was the main instrument for data collection. Findings: There was no clear university policy on the evaluation of teaching effectiveness, despite its importance in quality control. Student evaluation of teaching effectiveness (SETE) was found to be unreliable, although widely used where evaluation existed, without other evaluation support systems. Feedback from the evaluation, though crucial in professional improvement, was not made available to the respondents. Research limitations/implications: The study examined the evaluation of teaching effectiveness from the lecturers' perspectives. Further research may provide insights into the contribution of SETE to teaching effectiveness from the students' standpoint. Practical implications: Use of a variety of evaluation tools (e.g. self, peer) rather than relying solely on SETE is necessary. Comprehensive and usable information may be provided for effective teaching. Universities should provide clear policy guidelines on quality control for faculties to develop multiple teaching effectiveness evaluation instruments. Originality/value: Teaching evaluation is important in order to bring about an improvement in areas such as student achievement, and use of public funds or educational materials. The findings provide critical information for management decision making to assist universities to translate the resources at their disposal into learning outcomes. (Contains 16 tables.)